This book couldn’t have been more timely. It is needed. The portrayal of antisemitism was so accurate. We need more Orthodox representation in books. I loved it.

Forbidden romance is suuuuch a good trope for YA romance! I loved this twist on it with cultural and religious nuance. The orthodox Jewish representation was fantastic and very balanced - clearly the author knows what he’s talking about. It felt like an honest and raw portrayal of the rollercoaster of young people with religious obligations. Very sweet!

While this review is late, thank you to NetGalley, Isaac Blum, and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

This was one of my favorite books of 2022, and one that I have since used in high school book clubs to great success. It covers incredibly heavy and timely subjects, but it does so through Hoodie as a lens. Without his dry, sarcastic, and persistent sense of humor, this would have been a very difficult book. With Hoodie's point of view, it is truly a joy to read. I can't recommend it enough.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

3.5/5

The Life & Crimes of Hoodie Rosen follows young teenage Hoodie who is an Orthodox Jew. When his community is forced to move from their town to the gentile town of Tregaron, they find hostility as they try to find their new normal.

This is a hard book to read because of all the antisemitism, bigotry and hate Hoodie and his community experience in this book. I have no doubt it's realistic, and it hurts to read about it for that reason. Especially as antisemitism has only been on the rise in the US for the last couple years.

One thing that is really amazing about this book is that there is an Orthodox Jewish boy on the cover. Hoodie is visibly Jewish on the cover and that's something we don't always get to see in YA fiction.

This book is mainly a slice of life story about Hoodie's community trying to make Tregaron their new home and Hoodie being a fifteen year old boy. Hoodie has been somewhat sheltered by his community, so when he experiences his first crush on the mayor's daughter, it comes with a lot of confusing feelings for him. Not only that, but Anna-Marie and Hoodie have such vastly different upbringings that colors their understanding of their relationship. The ending was very well done to see how they had both thought of their relationship and the misunderstandings that happened.

This type of book is very much needed in YA. It might not be my favorite, but I know we need more stories like this and that it will be someone's favorite.

**Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen/Philomel Books for the eARC in exchange for this review. This in no way changed my opinion**

I was interested in this book because the synopsis compared it to Darius the Great is Not Okay, which is my favorite book of all time. This is not a good comparison and I feel like it was made just because it was a book about a male main character. It is nothing like Darius...the books don't share the same themes. They have wildly different plots. It's literally just "this book is about a male main character and now, they are both Morris award winners" (which blows my mind, to be honest. I'm very confused about that).

The book is about a 15-year-old named Hoodie Rosen who wanders out of his yeshiva school to talk to a girl named Anna-Marie. She ends up being the daughter of the antisemitic mayor. Hoodie thinks he's "in love" with her and proposes marriage at one point because he's being ostracized by his community for interacting with her. They have had like...three or four conversations EVER at this point and one of them was when her friends were super antisemitic and he waves it away because he's more worried about how she feels than how his friends that he's repeatedly told us he's known since they were babies feel about being called antisemitic slurs. The only thing I was genuinely glad about was that the book had Anna-Marie call him out for assuming he was in a relationship with her after such a short amount of time. They had never discussed it. The "romance" aspects of this were rushed. Both of them treat each other pretty horribly. I wasn't a fan of that at all.

While Hoodie is very sheltered and lives in a pretty insular community, his naïveté is a little much at times. He knew enough about Anna-Marie's mom to know she was the mayor, that she had yard signs up that were antisemitic, that she was calling late night meetings of the town board to halt a project based on her antisemitic views and then he goes to their house and says "I don't know how anyone expected me to KNOW she was antisemitic!" I was floored. It's like writing a Black character who said "I didn't know this person trying to ram through racist legislature was a racist!" It wouldn't ever come across as a real person who has been a part of that community since they were born. How could he NOT know when his father kept mentioning it constantly? It makes absolutely no sense.

Lastly, the book is too short. The plot is so quick that it's like whiplash watching it play out. It needed at least another 50 pages to flesh out the relationships, if not 100. It's pacing was just very poor and it wasn't for me. I would refer to a review by an Orthodox Jewish person in terms of it's representation, but I'm assuming the author knows what he's doing in terms of writing about his own community. Honestly, I was more interested in what his sister, Zippy, was doing and I wish the book had been about her. She had a much more intriguing arc in a very short book. The writing itself is pretty funny at times, but that doesn't save a book that was this poorly plotted.

This was a quick read with a big story. It really dove deep into the teenage struggle with finding yourself in the community you grow up in and the wider world around you. Discovering a path that might be different from those around you.

I am months late with this review and wish I would have carved out. time to read this novel sooner! Hoodie's life and story was endlessly fascinating to me as someone who is not Jewish. This was a moving and profound story of growing up, family, religion, and prejudice, but also just a wonderfully immersive story for non-jewish readers. I learned a lot and can't wait to recommend this to my students!

Isaac Blum's The Life And Crimes Of Hoodie Rosen was excellent. This young adult contemporary book follows a boy named Hoodie Rosen who moves with his family to a new town along with several other Jewish families. The residents of the town are not happy about this and act in anti semitic ways. Hoodie happens upon a girl at the graveyard and she turns out to be the most unlikely friend. Anna-Marie Diaz-O'Leary is the daughter of the town mayor. The mayor isn't thrilled about the new residents either. However, a friendship flourishes between Hoodie and Anna-Marie, but it is not without challenges. Eventually the anti semitic crimes rise to the level of violence that causes death, and well things come to a climactic moment. 

I really found this book to be thoughtful and insightful. It adds a perspective I hadn't considered. You see, I read this book knowing about the controversy in Muncie and East Ramapo. So I assumed the controversy in this book would be the same. It is not. However, it did give me a whole new perspective. Hoodie Rosen's character is very well written and well rounded. He felt like a real person. The romance wasn't really amazing or anything, but I did find the overall storyline to be engaging. The audiobook narration -- by Josh Bloomberg -- was satisfying. This book is a quick listen. The Life And Crimes Of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum is 5 hours and 57 minutes unabridged and absolutely worth a commute listen.

*Thank you Penguin Randomhouse for an eARC in exchange for an honest review*

Following an Orthodox Jewish teen whose community has recently relocated to a town not very happy to have them, Hoodie meets Ana, the non-Jewish daughter of the mayor who is continuing to work to keep the Jewish community out of the area. Hoodie’s dealing with questions about his religion, new love, friendship all while the community is experiencing antisemitic actions from an unknown group.

I was very interested in learning more about Orthodox Judaism as I’m not familiar at all with the religion and it’s always great to see a different and new to me perspective on the page. I loved that this story wasn’t simple and we see both pros and cons when looking at all sides of the close knit community and strict religious protocols that Hoodie and his family live by.

The biggest thing for me was the way the romance was portrayed. There’s a certain naivety that is understood coming from young Hoodie who’s never really had a chance to experience first love before. However, there are certain things Hoodie does in his love that border on stalking behavior that are never addressed. While they were in my opinion not intentionally malicious or anything. I wish there had been more learning on the other side of it for the audience.

I absolutely loved Hoodie’s older sister and the role she played.

Content warnings:
Antisemitism (graffiti, legislature, comments)
Explicit gun violence

This is the most Jewish book I've ever read, and I loved it! The author has created such a unique character in Hoodie, and as a shiksa, I learned so much about Orthodox Judaism. Hoodie's sweet coming-of-age story is identifiable to any child facing first love or even facing learning about the world outside his family and community. I listened to this book, and the narrator is wonderful.

A funny yet poignant debut novel about 16 year old Hoodie Rosen: his misadventures and coming of age in an orthodox Jewish community. Hoodie is your average teenage boy, he hangs out with friends, plays basketball, and eats Starbursts. He also just happens to fall for the gentile daughter of the mayor trying to keep his community out of the town they currently reside in. An interesting look on what forbidden love looks like when all you want is expectance and keeping ties to your community.

This was another book that I gravitated towards because of the cover. I absolutely loved the colors and the way it was drawn. I loved the things I got to learn while reading this as well as the complexity of Hoodie. An absolutely amazing book that I could recommend to anyone.

When I started this novel I wasn’t sure what to think it. As someone who doesn’t know much about or have any experiences with the Orthodox Jewish community, I was nervous. I felt like the author did a fantastic job at allowing us readers to read about the community and learn more.

This book covers serious topics but also mixes in some humor and sarcasm. The MC Hoodie was incredibly likable, I loved his POV. He was a fantastic character.

If you’re looking for a great coming of age story then I recommend you pick this one up.
This book made me laugh and cry and taught me about a way of life that I wasn’t familiar with. Give this a chance.

TW: antisemitism, violence, hate crimes, gun violence, blood, murder, and PTSD

“Later, I tried to explain to Rabbi Moritz why it was ironic that my horrible crime was the thing that saved the whole community”

Hoodie Rosen's life isn't that bad. Sure, his entire Orthodox Jewish community has just picked up and moved to the quiet, mostly non-Jewish town of Tregaron, but Hoodie's world hasn't changed that much. He's got basketball to play, studies to avoid, and a supermarket full of delicious kosher snacks to eat. The people of Tregaron aren’t happy that so many Orthodox Jews are moving in at once, but that’s not Hoodie’s problem. That is, until he meets and falls for Anna-Marie Diaz-O’Leary—who happens to be the daughter of the obstinate mayor trying to keep Hoodie’s community out of the town. And things only get more complicated when Tregaron is struck by a series of antisemitic crimes that quickly escalate to deadly violence. As his community turns on him for siding with the enemy, Hoodie finds himself caught between his first love and the only world he’s ever known.

Starting this novel I wasn’t sure what to think, but by the end I really loved it. As someone who doesn’t know much about or have any experiences with the Orthodox Jewish community, I really appreciated how this story allowed readers to enter into the community and learn more about it. Well written and covering some incredibly important topics, the story was very moving and touched my heart. Truly engaging and absolutely hilarious, Blum did a fantastic job on his debut, I definitely recommend checking this one out!

I recommend this one to anyone looking to learn more about the Orthodox Jewish community, fans Adam Silvera and “Unorthodox,” and lovers of witty novels that cover important topic

The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen is a special book. It's timely, real, authentic. It covers complex and serious issues with humor and sarcasm still in the mix. This book is absolutely beautiful and deserves so much space and recognition in the world.

Thank you Penguin Teen for my eARC in exchange for my review. All of this feedback is my own.

Hoodie is a hilarious teen who is navigating his life as an Orthodox Jew. He was seemingly on the fence of his views which took a crash course to the left when he was introduced to Anna-Marie who is a gentile. This one is filled with laughter, sadness, awkwardness and anguish. The ending though had me grinning from ear to ear for these two teens. I like to think they go off to college together and end up living happily ever after!

I appreciated that it touched on some, sadly, hot topic issues right now. Jewish people are being targeted with antisemitism daily, still, and this one explored how that was affecting both of their lives.

I had a hard time connecting with the story but not because of how the story was written or who the characters were. Only because the things they were discussing, I have not experienced nor do I have much experience with being an Orthodox Jew. But that didn’t stop me from enjoying this one, learning a thing or two from it, and continuing to turn the pages. I think that this one is important for any of us to read because it will open our eyes to what is really actually happening in the world right now to Jewish people, without even having to turn on the news.

Some books are constructed around a certain pay-off.

The major driving force of why this novel works is a spoiler. However, if you decide to read this book, know that it is really a slice of life character study with no real plot.

I highly encourage all teens to read this novel. It has the initial appeal of a first love story but it is really about identity, religion, and learning openness from others. I appreciated reading this one on a Kindle so I could easily have some of the Jewish terms defined. There was so much to learn and with antisemitism continuing to cycle through the news I think this book is more essential than ever and why this is not just a teen read! Teachers, parents, and teens should all pick this one up!

“The message on the Cantor grave was talking to me directly, telling me to go away, that I was unwanted, rejected by the place that was supposed to be my new home.”

✨✨✨

WOOOOW you guys. We need more characters like Hoodie Rosen in the world. This book was as HILARIOUS as it was meaningful. As heartbreaking as it was witty.

I’m Jewish but reformed - so it was so truly fascinating learning more about a sector of Judaism I don’t know nearly enough about. Not to mention how emotional it was reading about antisemitic attacks that are (sadly) very real and happening every single day. BUT SO IMPORTANT to write about & have represented.

SHORT SYNOPSIS ✨
Hoodie’s Orthodox Jewish community has just picked up & moved to a non-Jewish town. Things get complicated when a series of anti semetic crimes escalate as Hoodie falls for the daughter of the mayor who is trying to keep the Jewish community out of town.

READ THIS IF ✨
- you like witty, sarcastic, male characters who aren’t afraid to speak their minds
- you are looking to educate yourself about a community that is different from what you know
-you like reading about male/female friendships & unrequited love
-reading about funny family dynamics
- that feeling of a reading the end of a book that literally has u on the edge of ur seat/thinking about it long after u close the last page

⭐️ THIS BOOK IS LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD & so rightfully so!! ⭐️

The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen starts as an innocuous romance between a Jewish boy and a "gentile" girl. The Jews in his new town are facing antisemitism, but Hoodie faces consequences for befriending an outsider. Hoodie and Anna-Marie are compelling characters, though I wish there were a few more background characters that stood out to me. I would have liked to see more of Hoodie's chaotic sisters and ground myself in his family, instead of seeing most of his traditions in a school setting. The novel blends Jewish traditions and jargon seamlessly into the narrative, and I found myself looking up certain phrases to get to know the customs better.

My biggest complaint is the climax. I should have seen the climax coming, but I did not. It felt out of place, even in a book about prejudice. Almost like the author needed something to shock the audiences with because the typical rom-com misunderstanding (also present) did not do its job. The amount of closure by the end of the story was good, and everything after the incident resolved as well as can be expected. That one scene just felt out of place with the rest of the narrative, though that could have been intentional on the part of the author. After all, no one sees these kinds of incidents coming.